Wednesday 9 February 2011

Wednesday 2 February 2011

hipster

Brick Lane would be the first place to come to mind as a hipster haven. Hipster as a sub culture is difficult to define because it does not have a certain ideology and did not originate  as a reaction to an event going on at the time eg. punk. Hipster seems to be a trend that has evolved from other subcultures such as the mods and now can itself be broken down into smaller sub-hipster groups usually decided on which area you live. Hipsters thrive on the idea that they are all individual but in fact you could write a recipe on “How to Become a Hipster” and anyone would be fooled. It's not that what they are doing isn’t ‘cool’ or, in context 'deck'; their crooked fringes and their great grandmothers faux(or not faux) fur coats are interesting but the question remains, how are they blinded by the fact that if they look in the mirror and then at all their friends its like a little army of hipster clones?
Mocking hipsters has become a popular internet pasttime with sites such as 'Hackney Hipster Hate,' and they have become known as 'dickheads' which is where the term for the sub-group of Brick Lane hipsters, 'the Brick Lane Dickheads' comes from or again, in context, the 'BLD's'.
Being a BLD is all about the blasé attitude to middle class living; to slumming  it on the kitchen floor of  some student flat in Shoreditch to wearing the oldest, ripped up garments you or more likely, your grandparents owned but that's what its really all about; the clothes. Hipster shopping includes trying to find the quirkiest and most of the time cheapest vintage boutiques. Anywhere with an eclectic mix of things taken from the past: borrowed ‘coolness’ from our ancestors. Key shops include Absolute Vintage, Beyond Retro and the odd item from Top Shop is okay as long as you mix it with what you found in the dusty old box in your attic. A fur coat is a must have,  alongside scruffy ankle boots, levi cut-offs you bought for a 5’er, and any tights providing they have a number of holes/ladders. Females make-up is a minimum unless you need to put more kohl round your eyes to give that heroin chic look, hair also needs that unkempt feel even if it takes hours to get those perfectly messy waves or that 'can't be bothered' top-knot. Males hair will be updated on a regular basis but it is ideal if the hair is naturally curly and will usually be top heavy with some sort of bird nesty fringe.
As for lifestyle, daytime consists of health-food and riding everywhere on fixie bikes probably to level out the dub-step inspired drug taking and excessive drinking of an evening. But soon these kids will tire of sleeping on their friend's kitchen floor or they'll realise they (gasp) fit in with the BLD's and they'll move on to the next place they see where they can specifically avoid the mainstream and stand out from the rest of the commercial wearing clones. However for now, Brick Lane seems to be the place to flock to if you're a granny glasses, vintage fur, skinny jean, leather satchel wearing hipster.